Toy



Dec. 15, 1931. R. L. BOWMAN TOY Filed March 7, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 1INVENTOR. Karl. BOWMAN,

MQM

BY q

ATTORNEY.

Dec. 15, 1931. BOWMAN 1,836,640

TOY

Filed March '7, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR.

[For 11 Bow/WA N,

A TTORNFVx Patented Dec. 15, 1931 PATENT OFFICE BOY L. BOWMAN, FSAGINAW, MICHIGAN Application filed March 7, 1931.. Serial No. 520,905.

My invention relates to mechanical toys, and has particular reference toimprove ments in the toy shown in my Patent No. 1,323,002, granted to meunder date of November 25th, 1919.

One of the improvements embodied in the present invention is theprovision of means whereby the arms and legs of the monkey are movedwith relation to the body of the monkey, as the monkey travels up anddown the upstanding support. The means to move or swing the llIIlbS ofthe monkey are simple, and may be retained in proper adjustment, so thatthe travel of the monkey, due to the action of weights, may be properlyeffected. A further improvement resides in the simplification of meansforfeeding the weight or ball into the recess or mouth of the monkey, asit reaches the end of its upward travel. The improvement also resides inthe wheel and track arrangement, which properly guides the monkey,during its travel, and retains its recess or pocket in alignment withthedischarge opening of the ball feeding means.

In the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, andin which like numerals are employed to designate like parts throughoutthe same,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a mechanical toy, embodying myinvention,

Figure 2 is a plan view of the same,

' Figure 3 is a plan view of the ball or spherical weight holdingtrough,or receptacle.

Figure 4 is a central vertical longitudinal section through the toy,- I

Figure 5 is an elevation of the inner face of the monkey,

Figure 6 is a horizontal section taken on line 66 of Figure 4. I 1

In the drawings, wherein'for the purpose of illustration is shown apreferred embodiment of my invention, the numeral 10 designates anupstanding tubular support, preferably formed of tin, or other sheetmetal. This tubular support is, preferably, circularly curved inhorizontal cross-section, and the edges of the sheet metal may haveinterlocking engagement, as shown at- 11. The upstanding tubular support10 has the material thereof provided with transverse slits ranged withinthe tubular support 10 is a reinforcing or stiffening element or plate18, which is curved in cross-section, and has its concave surfacearranged next to the slot 17. The reinforcing plate 18 is suitably attached to the tubular support 10, as shown at19, thereby impartingsuflicient stiffness to the adjacent portions of the tubular bodyportion 10, so that the tracks 14 and 15. will maintain their properpositions.

At its lower end, the tubular support 10 is inserted into a hollow cone20, and is attached thereto, and the tubular support '10 and this coneare both mounted upon and within a flanged base 2]., the elements 18 and20 being suitably attached to the bottom of the base 21, as shown. Thecone 20 carries a stationary trip 22.

The animated figure, preferably in the form of a monkey, embodies acarriage 23, which is U-shaped in horizontal cross-section, includingsides 24, and a back 25, the bottom of the carriage being open, asshown. The sides 24: are provided with openings for rotatably receivingshafts 26, carrying wheels 27, rigidly secured thereto, and these wheelstravel upon the outer tracks 14, outwardly of the flanges 16. The shafts26 are provided centrally thereof with cranks 28, for a purpose'to bedescribed.v Disposed inwardly of the inwardly facing grooved tracks 15,is a cross-head 29, having wheels 30 rotatably mounted upon its oppositeends, and'these wheels 30 operate within the grooved tracks 15. Thecross-head 29 is rigidly attached to an adjustable bolt 31, passingthrough an opening in the block 25 of the carriage, and having noscrew-threaded engagement therewith, and this bolt carries a nut 32,having screw-threaded engagement therewith. It is obvious that byadjusting the nut 32, that the proper amount of frictional engagementwill be had between the wheels 27 and the tracks 14, without liabilityof the parts binding, so that the carriage will be actuated by theweight elements, to be described.

The numeral 33 designates the body portion of the animated figure ormonks, and this body portion is U-shaped in horizontal crosssection, andembodies sides 34, and a back by means of lugs 36-, secured to thecarriage, and having tongues 37, passing through slots formed in thesides 34. The body portion 33 is provided at its lower end with a plate38, suitably attached to the carriage 23, and at its top with ahorizontal plate 39, arranged beneath the l ead 40. This'head isprovidedv with a ball or weight receiving pocket or recess 41,preferably representing the mouth of the monkey. Pivoted to the upperends of the sides 34, of the body portion of the monkey, are upper arms42, by means of a transverse shaft 43, and a transverse shaft 44 ispivoted within the lower ends of the sides 34, beneath the plate 38, andthis shaft carries lower legs 45. The pair of upper legs or arms 42 areconnected by a rod 46, bent near their center into an eye 47, forpivotal connection with the end of a connecting rod or pitman 48, theinner end of which is pivotally connected with the crank 28, of theupper shaft 26.

A similar rod49 connects the lower pair of legs 45, and has pivotalconnection with the connecting rod or pitman 50, pivotally connectedwith the crank 28, of the lower shaft 26. It isthus seen thatas theshafts 26 rotate, the cranks 28 and associated connections will causethe upper and lower legs to swing back and forth upon their pivots,thereby simulating a climbing movement. h

The numeral 51 designatesa reciprocatory ejector rod, operating throughopenings formedin the plates38 and 39. The upper end of this ejector rodextends into the pocket or recess 41, and its lower end extends beneaththe plate 38, in alignment with the stationary rip 22.

The numeral 53 designates a tail element, attached at its lower end tothe body portion of the monkey, and near its upper end to a cap 54, andextendingupwardly beyond this cap. in the form of an inclined or curvedportion 55, having its convex side facing toward the upstandingsupport'lO.

' The carriage 23 is provided with a tongue 56, which is'slctted forconnection with a flexible element or cord 57, passed about a groovedpulley 58, arranged within the upper end of the tubular supportlO, androtatably supported by a transverse shaft 59. -A weight is attached tothe free end of the flexible element 57 and operates within the tubularsupport 10, and this weight is sufliciently heavy to elevate theanimated figure, when the pocket 41 is empty.

The numeral 60 designates a top element, suitably secured to the tubularsupport 10 and preferably simulating leaves- Arranged beneath this topelement is a ball or weight receiving and feeding trough 61, attached tothe tubular support 10, by means of tongues 62, or other suitable means.This trough V embodies a ball holding section 63, having an 35. Thesides are attached to the carriage 23 inclined bottom 64, which extendsdownwardly, outwardly from the tubular support 10. The intake end ofthis trough section is arranged beneath an opening 65, formed in the topelement- 60. The trough further embodies a feeding section 66, incommunication with the'section 63, bya transverse passage 67. Thetroughsection 66 is provided in itsbot-tom with a ball seating opening68, see particularly Figure 3, and this ball seat opening is ofsubstantially smaller diameter than the ball. The ball cannot passthrough this opening, but the opening simply seats the ball so that'itwill not roll within the trough section 66. This trough section isprovided inwardly of the ball seating opening 68, with a larger ballfeeding opening 69, having a diameter larger than that of the ball.'InFigure 3, the trough 61 is shown as being generally V- shaped, withballs 70, within the ball holding section 63. As more'clearly shown inFigure 4, when the monkey travels upwardly and approaches the end of itsmovement, the inclined or curved extension 55 of its tail will passthrough the ball seating opening 68, and engaging behind the ball, willshift it forwardly into the opening 69, so that it may drop through thisopening. I v

The operation of the toy is as follows:

The balls-or spherical weights 7 0 are fed through the opening 65 andenter the trough storage section 63. .When the ball is'fed into thetrough section 63, it rolls down the same and runs through the passage67 and enters the ball feeding section 66, and becomes seat-ed withinthe seating opening 68. The successive balls entering the'section 66become stored therein as the lowermost ball is resting against the ballseated within the opening 68. The bottom 64 has onlya slight inclinationso that there will be no tendency for the ball to run over the seatingopening 68. The rolling action of the ball in the trough holding sectionmay be properly retarded at the discharge end of the same, when the ballcontacts with the end wall of the trough section, prior to travelingtransversely through the passage 67, to the seat ing opening 68. Thefigure may now be drawn to the bottom of the tubular support 10, which,of course, will elevate the weight 60, and when the figure is released,the

weight 60 will automatically draw the same up the tubular support 10.

During this upward movement, the wheels 27 are turned, rotating shafts26, whereby cranks 28 and associated elements cause an oscillatingmovement of the upper and lower legs, simulating a climbing action. Whenthe figure approaches the end of its upward travel, the tail extension55 passes upwardly through the ball seating opening 68, and its curvedor inclined portion engages behind the ball seated within the ballseating opening 68, pushing the same forwardly from the seating openingand causing it to pass into and through the feeding opening 69. Therecess or pocket 41 of the figure is now beneath, near and in alignmentwith the ball feeding opening 69, and the ball is accordingly caughtwithin the pocket 41. This ball is sufiiciently heavy to over-balancethe weight 60, and the figure then travels downwardly, the upper andlower legs being oscillated during the downward travel. When the figureapproaches the end of its downward movement, the ejector rod 51 strikesthe trip 22, and this rod ejects the ball from the pocket 41, the ballfalling within the flanged base 21. The figure again starts upon itsupward travel, and the cycle of operation is repeated automaticallyuntil all of the balls have been discharged from the trough.

It is to be understood that the form of my invention herewith shown anddescribed, is to be taken as a referred example of-the same, and thatvarious changes in the shape, size and arrangement of parts may beresorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention, or thescope of the subjoined claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is I 1. A mechanicaltoy comprising an upstanding tubular support having outer longitudinaltracks and inner longitudinal tracks arranged between the outer tracks,the inner tracks being spaced to provide a longitudinal slotthere-between, a figure having movable limbs to traveloutwardly of andlongitudinally of the tubular support, wheels connected with the figureand traveling upon the outer tracks, operating connecting means betweenthe wheels and limbs, an element connected with the figure and extendingthrough the slot to the interior of the tubular support, wheels arrangedwithin the tubular support and traveling upon the inner tracks andmounted upon the element, and weight-operated means to effect the travelof the figure longitudinally of the support.

2. A mechanical toy comprising an upstanding tubular support havingouter longitudinal tracks and inner longitudinal tracks disposedadjacent to the outer tracks, the inner tracks having side walls servingas flanges for the outer tracks and the inner tracks being spaced toafford a longitudinal slot, :1 figure having movable limbs to travel outwardly of and longitudinally of the tubular support, wheels connectedwith the figure and traveling upon the outer tracks, operatingconnecting means between the wheels andthe tubular support, transverseindependently rotatable shafts connected with the figure and havingcranks, wheels carried by the shafts and engaging the exterior of thetubular support, a connecting rod between each crank and thecorresponding set of movable limbs, means engaging the interior of thetubular support and serving toretain the wheels incontact with theexterior of the tubular support, and weight-operated means to effect thelongitudinal travel of the figure.

4. In a mechanical toy, an upstanding support, a figure to travellongitudinally of the support and having a ball-receiving pocket,weight-operated means to move the figure upwardly of the support, agenerally V- shaped trough mounted upon the upper portion of the supportand including a ballholding trough section and a ball-feeding troughsection and a transverse passage connecting the trough sections, saidball-feeding trough section being provided in its bottom with a ballseating opening and a larger ball feeding opening disposed forwardly ofthe ball seating opening, the ball feeding opening being arranged ingeneral alignment with the ball receiving pocket of the figure, a tripelement carried by the figure and arranged to be moved upwardly throughthe ball seating opening for engagement behind the ball to unseat the.same and cause it to travel through the ball feeding opening, andautomatic means to'eject the ball from the ball receiving pocket whenthe figure approaches the end of its downward travel.

5. In a mechanical toy, an upstanding support, a figure to travellongitudinally of the support and having a ball receiving pocket,weight-operated means to move the figure upwardly of the support, atrough mounted upon the upper portion of the support and including aball-holding trough section and a ball-feeding trough section and aninclined passage connecting the trough sections, the side wall of thetransverse passage serving to close the lower end of the ballholdingtrough section, said ball-feeding trough section being provided in itsbottom with a ball seating opening and a larger ball feeding openingdisposed forwardly of the ball seating opening, the ball feeding openingbeing arranged in general alignment with the ball receiving pocket ofthe figure, a trip element carried by the figure and arranged to bemoved upwardly throughthe ball feed-- ing opening for engagement behindthe ball to unseat the same and cause it to travel throu h the ballfeeding openin 6. n a mechanical toy, an upstanding sup port, a figureto travel lon itudinally of the support and simulating a monkey andincluding pivotal limbs and means to move the limbs during the travel ofthe monkey, said figure having a ball receiving pocket and a tailelement extending above the pocket and having an inclined part,weight-operated means to move the figure upwardly, a trough mounted uponthe upper portion of the support and having an inclined bottom and pro--vided with a ball seating opening and a larger ball feeding openingdisposed forwardly of the ball seating opening, the ball seating openingbeing arranged in general alignment with the tail element and the ballfeeding opening in general alignment with the pocket, a movable ejectorcarried by the figure and extending into the ball receiving pocket, anda trip arranged near the lower end of the support in the path of travelof the ejector.

In testimony whereof I affix my signaturev ROY L. BOWMAN.

